Raytheon is watching "Eye-a-fe-all-a-yer-ku-dull" Volcano now, according to UPI's last update on April 29. The article says the observation satellite has sulfur dioxide detection channels that make detection of volcanic plumes easier.

UPI also has a nice hi-res shot taken by a joint US-Japan satellite, posted April 27th, which can be found here.

Vulcan6gun

"Would you like your scientific research grilled, or roasted?"--Unknown Japanese whaler

UPDATE: It's still smokin', and looks like Eyjafjallajokull will be for some time. The last major smoke-belch sent a cloud of ash that missed Ireland by a whisker, but has since been carried into Spanish-Portuguese airspace, forcing civil authorities to temporarily close several airports. [Adapted from upi.com report of May 7, 2010.]

Vulcan6gun

"Would you like your scientific research grilled, or roasted?"--Unknown Japanese whaler

"Each time following an eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, it’s mighty neighbor, Katla, has erupted shortly afterward. Eyjafjallajokull and Katla are separated by 27 km (17 mi) and are thought to have interconnecting magma channels. Eyjafjallajokull erupted on April 14, 2010.

Katla (named after an Icelandic witch) is known to have erupted 16 times since 930, the last time during 1918. Since then, Katla has been quiet for the longest duration on record. It is overdue, and now that it’s little sister Eyjafjallajokull has erupted, it’s just a matter of time.

Katla itself is 30 km (19 mi) in diameter reaching a height of 1,500 meters (4,900 feet), while the 10 km (6 mi) crater of the volcano lies up to 500 meters (1,600 feet) beneath the Myrdalsjokull glacier on the southern edge of Iceland. Iceland sits directly on top of a split in the earth’s crust of two tectonic plates on the Mid-Atlantic ridge and is a hot spot for volcanic activity with 35 volcanoes around the island.

An eruption of Katla would likely be 10 times stronger than the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull and could be disastrous to Iceland with raging floods from the melting Myrdalsjokull glacier, immense depths of volcanic ash, and climate change to regions of the world.

If the eruption is long enough and high enough, ash could be blasted 20 km (12 mi) into the stratosphere and circle the globe blotting out part of the sun from penetrating to earth, and reduce temperatures worldwide. The big question of course is how big would the eruption be and to what extent the global climate change.

We know that when Katla erupted in 1700, the Mississippi River froze just north of New Orleans for example. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991 for 2 days, it dropped temperatures 4 degrees worldwide for a year. Katla on average erupts for 50 days, although the cumulative severity over that time period depends on the force of the eruptions lifting ash high into the atmosphere. We won’t know until it happens.

katla-volcano-1918Although the magnitude of disaster would not be that of a super volcano such as Wyoming’s Yellowstone, the potential is there for a global catastrophe from a worldwide extended deep freeze. Huge crop failures would translate to starvation for some and very high food prices for others. A ripple effect would occur through the already teetering economies of the world.

Since the potential exists for a major Katla eruption, we should prepare ourselves as best we can, knowing how modern society is so very fragile from disruptions (just look at what happened to worldwide air travel and the economic impact from the small eruption of Eyjafjallajokull)."

“Living backwards!” Alice repeated in greatastonishment. “I never heard of such a thing!”“—but there’s one great advantage in it, that one’smemory works both ways.”— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

That was silly rath, the last guy totally choked. That reporter surefound amusement in all that.

“Living backwards!” Alice repeated in greatastonishment. “I never heard of such a thing!”“—but there’s one great advantage in it, that one’smemory works both ways.”— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

vulcan6gun wrote:UPDATE: It's still smokin', and looks like Eyjafjallajokull will be for some time. The last major smoke-belch sent a cloud of ash that missed Ireland by a whisker, but has since been carried into Spanish-Portuguese airspace, forcing civil authorities to temporarily close several airports. [Adapted from upi.com report of May 7, 2010.]

Looks like they are back at getting hit with more ash now tho.From the looks of everything they are taking air travel day by day.

“Living backwards!” Alice repeated in greatastonishment. “I never heard of such a thing!”“—but there’s one great advantage in it, that one’smemory works both ways.”— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

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